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THE SEPULTURE 

OF 

Major Gen. Nathanael Greene, 

AND OP 

Brig. Gen. Count Casimir Pulaski. 



I. On the 20th of April, 1786, 
Greneral Nathanael Greene was in- 
terred, with all the pomp and cir- 
mmstance at command, in the old 
cemetery in Savannah. After a 
short and violent illness he had 
died at his plantation on the Savan- 
nah river, a few miles above Savan- 
nah, and his body was transported 
by water to that town for sepul- 
ture. As the boat conveying his 
remains neared the wharf, and until 
his coffin was deposited in the 
tomb, minute guns were discharged 
from Fort Wayne. The ships in 
port displayed their colors at half- 
mast. All the shops were closed; 
and the inhabitants, susjiending 
their customary avocations, united 
in testifying universal sorrow at the 
death of one who, among the Gen- 
erals of the Revolution, occupied in 
the public esteem a place second 
only to that conceded to Washing- 



ton. The procession, then formed, 
consisted of 

The Chatham Artillery: 

The Light Infantry: 

The Militia of Chatham County: 

Clergymen and Physicians: 

A Band of Music: 

The corpse and pall-bearers, es- 
corted on each side by a company of 
dragoons: 

The chief mourners: 

The members of the Order of Cin- 
cinnatus: 

The Speaker of the House of As- 
sembly and other civil officers of the 
State; and lastly, of citizens and 
strangers. 

Meeting the corpse with its im- 
mediate attendants at the land- 
ing, the funeral cortege, about 
5 o'clock in the afternoon, took 
up the line of march for 
the cemetery, — the band playing the 
Dead March in Saul, and the artillery 
firing minute guns as it advanced. 
When the graveyai'd was reached 
the military formed on the right and 
left, and rested on reversed arms. In 
the absence of an Episcopal clei-gy- 
man, the funeral service of the 
Church of England was read by the 
Honorable William Stephens, and 
the corjjse deposited in a vault. The 
ceremony was terminated by a sa- 
lute of thirteen guns from the artil- 
lery, and three volleys from the in- 
fantry. In the language of an eye- 
witness of this impressive rite, "the 
whole was conducted with a solem- 
nity suitable to the occasion." 

Contemporaneous accounts do not 



specify the precise vault in which 
the coffin of General Greene was 
lodged. 

It will be remembered that in 
consideration of his distinguished 
services during the war of the Revo- 
lution, and as an acknowledgment 
of the gratitude entertained by the 
people of Georgia for his conduct 
while in command of the Southern 
Department, and especially for his 
good offices in detaching General 
Wayne to expel the King's forces 
from the limits of the State, the 
General Assembly adopted the fol- 
lowing preamble and resolutions; 

"Whereas, the Honorable Major 
General Greene hath, since his 
taking the command of the South- 
ern Army, rendered high and im- 
portant services to the Southern 
States, by wresting them from the 
hand of British oppression, and es- 
tablishing the foundation of their 
independence and prosperity: 

And, whereas, services so glo- 
rious and honorable to the Uni- 
ted States in genei'al, and this 
State in particular — services which 
at once characterize the able and ju- 
dicious General as well as the in- 
trepid asserter of American freedom 
— call for the distinguished approba- 
tion of the Legislature of this State ; 

Be it therefore resolved ; That the 
sura of five thousand gviineas be 
granted to three commissioners, to 
be appointed by the House, for the 
purpose of purchasing an estate for 
Major-General Nathanael Greene in 



6 



such part or parts of the State as he 
shall appoint. 

Resolved; That the said commis- 
sioners be empowered and aiitlior- 
ized to draw on, and receive the said 
sum of five thousand guineas from, 
the public treasury of the State.'" 

These resolutions were carried in- 
to efteet by the commissioners ap- 
pointed for that purpose, who in due 
course reported that they had, upon 
the sale of confiscated estates, pui'- 
chased for General Greene, at a cost 
of £7,097 19s., Mulberry Grove 
plantation, containing two thousand 
one hundred and seventy-one acres, 
late the property of John Grahame, 
royal Lieutenant Governor of the 
Province of Georgia. 

So soon as his public duties per- 
mitted, and his family could be con- 
veniently removed from Rhode 
Island, General Greene here fixed his 
home and gave to the cultivation of 
these lands his earnest and intelli- 
gent attention. In happy mood did 
he, at this time, write to his friends 
of the interest he took in his 
agricultural operations, of the attrac- 
tions of his new abode, of its gardens, 
its flowers and forests, of the mock- 
ing birds from morning until even- 
ing filling the air with sweetest mel- 
ody, of the balmy atmosphere, and 
of the hospitable attentions of his 
neighbors. 

Lieutenant-Governor Grahame had 
builded a family vault in the Savan- 
nah cemetery and, by many, this 
possession was regarded as appur- 



tenant to Mulberry Grove planta- 
tion. 

While the proof is not conclusive, 
the tradition lives and is generally 
accepted that upon the conclusion of 
the funeral services of the 20th of 
April, 1786, the coffin of General 
Greene was deposited in the 
Grahame vault, which was sub- 
stantially constructed of brick. 
That coffin, of wood, strongly 
made, was sv;rmounted by a metal 
plate whereon were engraven the 
name, rank, data of birth, and time 
of death of the Revolutionary hero. 
Here ail that was mortal of this 
friend of Washington was supposed 
to be resting in undisturbed repose. 

Anxious to testify by an enduring 
monument their respect for the 
memory alike of General Greene and 
of Count Pulaski, the citizens of Sa- 
vannah, early in the present century, 
endeavored to raise a fund sufficient 
for that purpose. In 1820 a commit- 
tee was empowered by the Mayor 
and Aldermen of the town to search 
for and locate the remains 
of General Greene, with a 
view to placing them beneath 
that monument when the necessary 
arrangements for its erection should 
have been completed. That com- 
mittee failed to tind any trace of the 
coffin of that famous General. All 
inquiries instituted by its members 
in explanation of the cause of its dis- 
appearance remained unsatisfied. 

Deeming the visit of General La- 
fayette most opportune for con- 
summating a purpose long delayed. 



the citizens of Savanuah invoked his 
services in laying the corner stones 
of two monuments — one in memory 
of (xcneral Greene and the other in 
\y honor of Count Pulaski. On the 21st 
of March, 1825, with appropriate 
ceremonies and patriotic addresses, 
the Marquis laid, in Johnson 
square, the corner stone of a 
monument to be erected in perpetu- 
ation of the memory of General 
Greene, and another in Chijipewa 
sqiiare to designate the spot upon 
■ which a shaft should lift its enduring 
head in honor of Count Pulaski. 
The former bore this inscription: 
"This corner-stone of a monument 
to the memory of Maj. Gen. Nathan- 
ael Greene was laid by General 
Lafayette, at the request of the citi- 
zens of Savannah, on the 21st of 
March, A. D. 1825." The latter 
was inscribed as follows: "On the 
21st day of March, A. D. 1825, was 
laid by General Lafayette, at the re- 
quest of the citizens of Savannah, 
tiiis Foundation Stone of a monu- 
ment to the memorv of Brigadier 
Count Pulaski.'" 

The effort to collect funds for the 
erection of mortuaiy shafts is often 
accompanied by perplexing delays 
and disappointments. To facilitate 
the matter in the present insta-ce, 
the General Assembly of Georgia, on 
on the 30th of November, 1826, pass- 
ed an act empowering certain com- 
missioners to raise by lottery the sum 
of thirty-tive thousand dollars "for 
the purpose of aiding the erection of 
monuments to the memory of Gen- 



9 



eral Greene and of Count Pulaski in 
the city of Savannah — the place al- 
I'eady consecrated by the blood of 
the one and the ashes of the other." 

i^boiit twelve years after the 
laying of the corner stones 
by General Lafayette, suffi- 
cient moneys having been realized 
to defray the cost of its construction, 
the monument now standing in 
Johnson square was builded in hon- 
or both of General Greene and of 
Count Pulaski, and continued to be 
known as the Greene and Pulaski 
monument until, in 1853, the corner 
stone was laid in Monterey square 
of a monument in honor of Count }/ 
Pulaski. From that time to the 
present day the simple structure in 
Johnson square has remained conse- 
crate to the memorv of Gen. Greene 
alone. 

The corner stone laid by General 
Lafayette in 1825, in Chippewa 
square, of the monument intended 
to commemorate on that spot 
the virtues and the devotion 
of the gallant Pole, was removed 
and united to the Greene corner stone 
in Johnson square when the present 
shaft was there constructed in joint 
memory of Greene and Pulaski. In 
1853, howevei*, this Pulaski corner 
stone was detached from the Greene 
and Pulaski monumen: in Johnson 
square, and was placed, with impos- 
ing ceremonies, in association with 
another corner stone beneath the 
beautiful mortuary structure which 
now, in Mouterc)- square, by its pres- 
ence embodies the gratitute of sue- 



10 



ceeding generations and enkindles a 
generous emulation of tliat disinter- 
ested devotion to, and love of, free- 
dom and right which glowed in the 
breast and marked the career of 
Pulaski. 

It has been suggested that the 
search for the remains of General 
Greene, instituted by the committee 
appointed for that purpose, was not 
thorough. Judge Johnson, when 
writing in 1820, intimated that a 
more careful inquiry might have ac- 
complished more satisfactory re- 
sults, and hinted that the coffin 
might have been removed from the 
Grahame vavilt to that of the Jones 
family. 

There is another explanation of 
the disappearance of the remains of 
General Greene. It rests upon 
tradition and is not devoid of prob- 
ability. The Grahames, who adher- 
ed to the cause of their King, and 
who departed from Georgia 
when the British troops were 
withdrawn, were necessarily in- 
censed at the loss of their es- 
tates, and the confiscation of their 
property by the successful Revolu- 
tionists. Their personal misfortunes 
intensified the hatred which, as loyal 
subjects, they entertained towards 
those who had been instrumental in 
compassing the overthrow of Kingly 
rule in Georgia. The thought that 
a rebel Major General should lie en- 
tombed in their vault was revolting 
and harrowing to their feelings. It 
is believed that some member of 
that family caused a secret removal 



11 



of the remains of General Greene 
from that vault, and their reinter- 
ment in an unmai-ked grave. After 
the lapse of so many years it is en- 
tirely probable that their present 
resting place will never be discover- 
ed. 

II While the assault, launched 
by the combined armies of Count 
d'Estaing and Gen. Lincoln against 
the British lines around Savannah 
on the morning of the 9th of Octo- 
ber, 1779, was raging, Count Pu- 
laski, with the approval of the Amer- 
ican commander, attempted, at the 
head of some 200 cavalrymen, to 
force a passage between the ene- 
my's works. His purpose was to 
penetrate within the town, pass in 
rear of the hostile lines, and carry 
confusion and havoc into the Eng- 
lish camp. In the execution of this 
design he advanced at full speed un- 
til arrested by the abattis. Here his 
command encountered ah avy cross- 
tire from the batteries, which threw 
it into confusion. The Count him- 
self was unhorsed by a can- 
ister shot which, penetrating 
his right thigh, inHicted a 
mortal wound. He was borne 
from the bloody field, and, after the 
coniiict was over, was conveyed on 
board the United States brig Wasjj 
to go round to Chai'lestown. He was 
so terribly wounded that he could not 
withdraw with the American forces 
under Lincoln. Delayed by head- 
winds, the ship I'emained several days 
in Savannah River. During this time 
he was attended by skillful surgeons 



Lcf' 



12 

from the French fleet. It was found 
impossible to establish suppura- 
tion, and gangrene supervened. 
As the Wasj^ was leaving 
the river on her wav to Charles- 
town, Pulaski breathed his last. 
His corpse became so offensive that 
Colonel Bentalou, his ollicer in at- 
tendance, "was compelled, though 
reluctantly, to consign to a watery 
grave all that was now left upon 
earth of his beloved and honored 
commander." 

Such, in a word, is a statement of 
the death and burial of this dashing 
officer who, unable to win the inde- 
prudence of his own country, lost 
his life in the brave effoi't to achieve 
the liberties of the American col- 
onies. 

We have already alluded to the 
early efforts made in Savannah to do 
honor to his memory. They culmi- 
nated at first in the erection of the 
joint monument to General Greene 
and himself in Johnson square. 
Subsequently, the corner-stone of the 
new monument in Monterey square 
was laid; and, in December of the 
following year, the admirable mem- 
orial sti'ucture, designed and erected 
by Launit/, was completed. Early 
in January, 1855, it was committed 
to the keeping of the Mayor and 
Aldermen of Savannah as a part of 
the public property of the city. 

Beneath this monument were de- 
posited human remains — exhumed 
at Greenwich, on Augustine creek — 
which were represented to be those 
of Count Pulaski. Accompanying 



13 



the published account of the cere- 
monies observed upon laying 
the corner-stone, and also upon 
the dedication of the Pulaski 
monument, is a statement by 
Colonel Bowen of the circumstances, 
traditions, and arguments which led 
him to believe that the slieleton, re- 
moved from Greenwich and interred 
beneath the monument, was indeed 
that of Count Pulaski. Curious as 
the narrative is, there can be no 
doubt but that the bones unearthed 
on the bluff of Augustine creek were 
those of some unknown individual, 
and not of the Polish cavalry leader. 
He did not die at Greenwich, and 
was not there interred. He sleeps 
where the ebbing tide of the Savan- 
nah meets and commingles with 
the waters of the broad Atlantic. 
Fit resting place for a hero of such 
expansive soul ! He sleeps where the 
praises in honor of his great deeds, 
sung by the waves of the Savannah 
a^ they kiss the shoi'e consecrated 
by his valorous deeds, are caught up 
by the billows of ocean and are by 
them joyfully repeated in wider 
circles, in more heroic strains. He 
sleeps where the ambient air, fra- 
grant with the perfumes of a land 
whose freedom he died to achieve, 
tells to Atlantic breezes the story of 
his martyrdom that they too, in glad 
acclaim, may answer back to the 
farthest coast the greatness of his 
fame. By a strange coincidence the 
beloved of Mars rests in the embrace 
of Neptune. 

HI. It thus appears that neither of 



14 



these famous Generals sleeps beneath 
the respective monuments which a 
grateful and a patriotic people have 
reared in their honor. 

Augusta, Ga., August 26, 1886. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




011 699 263 2 



HoIIinger 

pH 8.5 

MUl Run F03-2193 



